Travel is an amazing experience for a ton of reasons. It’s chance to experience different cultures, explore new sights, go on epic adventures and it’s the perfect excuse to try out so much incredible food!
But with so much incredible food to try out comes the inevitable travel weight gain. You know, when you’re so busy wining, dining and indulging non-stop that you kind of forget to look out for your health.
Not to worry though! We’ve rounded up some healthy travel tips and tricks so you can enjoy scrumptious Spanish paella, or a fine Italian vino without having to deal with travel weight gain.
Keep scrolling to check these tips out before you start gorging on delicious food on your next travel adventure!
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1. Start Your Day Off Right
That’s right, we’re taking about breakfast.
There’s a reason why breakfast is lauded as one of the most important meals of the day. It’s because it kickstarts your metabolism and gives you the fuel you need to get through the day.
We all know that when you travel, you need as much fuel as you can get to keep your energy levels up throughout the day!
Breakfast can also be one of the cheaper meals you have when you travel, particularly if it’s included as part of your stay.
What does a good travel breakfast look like? Ultimately, you want it to be healthy and balanced. Think a mix of fiber, (oatmeal or whole-grain cereal) protein (eggs), carbs (toast) and sugar (fruit), and don’t forget your morning coffee (or tea, if you’re that way inclined).
Alyssa’s Go-To breakfast when traveling is always yogurt, boiled egg whites, toast, and fruit!
2. Don’t Let Yourself Get Thirsty
When we travel, the one thing we often forget is to keep our fluids up by drinking lots of water.
Drinking water has a ton of benefits for your body and your brain. It also stops you from mindlessly snacking or thinking that you’re hungry when you are in fact dehydrated. Something we are all probably guilty of, particularly when we travel.
Water is also a pretty cheap drink to buy when you travel, and if often available for free at restaurants, cafés and hotels.
Obviously when you travel you are likely to be on the go a lot of the time. So grab yourself an eco-friendly drink bottle and hit the road, jack!
P.S. Did you know that the human body is around 50-65% water?! So if you weren’t convinced already, this fun fact should really illustrate that it’s super important to stay hydrated.
3. Opt For Healthy Snacks, And Pack Them In Your Day Bag
Things like fresh fruit, vegetables (hello carrot sticks and hummus), trail mix, almonds or protein bars.
Packing healthy snacks while you travel will prevent you from getting so ravenous that you gorge on a ton of junk food to appease your hunger.
Just as breakfast kickstarts your metabolism, healthy snacks will keep your metabolism going through the day and night as you travel.
4. Sweat It Out
Ok so no-one really wants to spend time during their travel days in a gym. Luckily you only need a few minutes, and you don’t even need a gym!
To start, take a couple of minutes to stretch your body from head to toe. This will help get your blood flowing, and will help release tension in your muscles.
Then, all you need to do is a 5-10 minute high intensity interval training (HIIT) routine. Why? Because a HIIT routine creates an oxygen debt, meaning you continue to burn calories after you’ve worked out. Perfect for when you gorge down on a ton of delicious local cuisine for like five days in a row!
You can easily do this in your hotel room (or outside), and there’s a ton of great HIIT tutorials online that you can use for free. AKA, the ideal travel exercise regime.
If you’re looking for a challenge, you could flex while you walk, giving your body a workout of sorts as you explore!
5. Keep Your Feet Busy
Burning calories while making memories = a winning combo!
Walking as much as possible when you travel is a great way to stay healthy and fit, and to take in all the sights.
So the next time you go to order a cab (or an uber) or jump on a bus, check to see if you can walk to your destination instead.
You really would have earned an indulgent meal (or two) by the end of the day, too!
6. Sleep Like There’s No Tomorrow
Prioritising sleep is so important, especially when we travel.
Our bodies and minds repair and restore themselves while we sleep, which helps us to have energy to explore and do fun activities the next day!
Our bodies also burn calories while we sleep, particularly in the REM stage. The longer you sleep the more calories you burn. But, oversleeping has the reverse effect and slows down your metabolism.
So, be sure to get in the recommended dose of 8 to 9 hours, even while you’re busy traveling.
7. Be Smart About Your Booze
Travel and cocktails kind of go hand in hand. After all, there’s something so relaxing about being on a tropical beach, cocktail in hand, soaking up the sun.
There’s just one problem, many cocktails can contain an entire day’s worth of sugar into a single drink (eeek!). Clearly, this is no good for your health or your waistline.
Of course, it’s nice to treat yourself to some drinks, and even more so when you travel. But, try to minimize the number of cocktails your have, and instead stick to lighter drinks. Things like wine, light beers, vodka sodas, gin with lime and martinis.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated with around two glasses of water per alcoholic drink you consume. This will stop you from getting dehydrated and gorging on junk food later on.
8. The 80/20 Rule Exists For A Reason
It’s all about balance, people!
Eating healthy helps keep your body and mind in check, but it’s also not reasonable to expect yourself to be 100% healthy all the time.
After all, you can’t go all the way to Italy and not have some pasta and gelato. Or go to France and avoid all the cheese (unless you’re lactose intolerant, then you should definitely avoid the cheese!)
So give yourself a break, and aim to eat healthy 80% of the time, so you can treat yourself the other 20% of the time. Because you can’t travel and not enjoy the beautiful food the world has to offer!
Have you tried any of these healthy travel tips out before? Did they help you avoid travel weight gain? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to share this post with your friends and family!
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